Speak and act as those who will be judged by the law of freedom. For judgment is without mercy to the one who hasn’t shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:12-13 HCSB
You ever find yourself short on mercy? I know I often do. I become aggravated with people who don’t do what is right. I become aggravated with people who don’t think like I do and behave as I would like for them to behave. Have you ever wondered what would happen to us if God thought that way too.
We are told in numerous passages that God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. God forgives us when we mess up, all we have to do is earnestly repent. But what if he treated us as we treat others?
We are told in Matthew 22:37-39 to love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind. We are also told that we are to love others as we love ourselves. Why did Jesus say this? Well, obviously He knows that as humans, we tend to be a little more lenient on ourselves when we make mistakes. We tend to be a little more loving and kinder to ourselves than perhaps we deserve. So, He commanded us to love others as we love ourselves.
If we love Him with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind, loving others comes easy because our devoted love for Him helps us to extend that love to others.
What if God had no patience with us when we made mistakes? What if he refused to forgive us when we made really big mistakes? Where would we be then? Well, we would be headed straight to hell, wouldn’t we? But we are told in many verses that God is patient, God is longsuffering. This means he tolerates our stupidity and waits patiently for us to come to our senses and draw near to Him. We are told in James 4:8 that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.
Jesus also said in Matthew 6:14-15, “For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.” In Matthew 7:1-2, Jesus said, “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. For with the judgment you use, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Our Scripture passage for today says that if we don’t give mercy, we won’t receive mercy.
Now there is a difference between judging and inspecting fruit. Inspecting fruit refers to us having the wisdom and discernment to not be unequally yoked or in any type of relationship with unbelievers. We will talk more about that tomorrow.
When we judge others, we tend to look down upon them. We tend to be unwilling to forgive them.
Are you doing this? What if God did this to you? We are told in Galatians 6:7-9 we will reap what we sow.
In Hosea 8:7, Hosea warned the Israelites of their impending judgment when he said, “Indeed, they sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” What we sow may even come back to us in a stronger dose.
Jesus explained it this way in Luke 6:31-33 when He said, “Just as you want others to do for you do the same to them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.”
The next time you are unwilling to forgive or maybe just having some really harsh thoughts against someone else, take a minute. Ask yourself, “What if God treated me that way because of my sinful behavior?”
Have a great day!